Council takes on Tarkine Coalition

The Burnie City Council has condemned the actions of a conservation group pushing for a national park in the Tarkine.

A motion against anti-mining lobby group Tarkine National Coalition was passed eight votes to one at last night's meeting.

The mayor, Steve Kons, says the motion is the start of the council's push to fight the anti-development agenda.

He says "small, fringe, lunatic groups" are driving the agenda in Tasmania and his motion supports forestry, mining and tourism.

"I think it's about time that we say enough is enough and as far as I'm concerned this is the first step in that process," he said.

"We just can't sit back and have fringe elements determine 90% of policy when they only represent 15 to 20% of the views.

"Throughout the north-west coast we're starting to get sick and tired of predominately unelected groups trying to tell us how development should occur."

The coalition's Scott Jordan says it will have very little impact on the group's campaign.

"A distraction but not something we're likely to get overly concerned about," he said.

"We represent those people who want to see the Tarkine protected and the polling indicates that 72% of people across the Braddon electorate want to see a Tarkine national park, and we'll continue our campaign to see that end.

"It's a bit of a strange position for a council to take to want to run campaigns against groups expressing their democratic rights."

A Tasmanian Greens MP has labelled the mayor's attack on the coalition "inflammatory and unproductive."

Braddon MHA Paul O'Halloran says the Tarkine Coalition is not a fringe group.

"We must remember also that Steve Kons is one part of the reason why the pulp mill hasn't got up because he was involved in fast-tracking that process, caused it to lose favour with the public."

"That kind of approach and that kind of language will not work. We need to work together so we're not divided on this issue, as we've been on so many others," he said.

Alderman Kons says a lack of funding is the reason why the pulp mill has not progressed.